


twinkle, little star.

by smilebouquet



Series: Colours [1]
Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Mario Bros. (Video Games)
Genre: (brief descriptions of) First Aid, Alternate Universe, Bowser tries to be a good dad, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Family Fluff, Gen, the koopalings are bowser's children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 07:14:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21011840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smilebouquet/pseuds/smilebouquet
Summary: Lemmy draws out a soft spot in the koopa king.





	twinkle, little star.

**Author's Note:**

> this has been in the works since...gosh i wanna say last year but really i've had this idea since two years ago.
> 
> anyway! yes, this is gonna be a series~ each koopaling (and bowser jr) will get their own oneshot, and they won't be connected to one another unless i say so. ludwig's was gonna be the first but i haven't finished it yet and i couldn't wait to post this anymore. (also i said "fuck it" and decided to just put it up before i go crazy editing it) but just a warning i MIGHT still come back and make minor changes...nothing too bad i hope.
> 
> other notes:  
\- as mentioned in the tags, the koopalings are bowser's biological children in this one!! their birth order is the reverse order they are fought in in SMB3  
\- this takes place in the past, so everyone's younger! here, bowser jr isn't born yet and lemmy is ten.

When Kamek first reported that Lemmy was missing, Bowser didn't think much of it. Lemmy had always been the type to wander off, for he hated sitting still. And he usually turned up after an hour, so Bowser had waved Kamek off, telling him to "let the damn kid grow a backbone,” before returning to his beloved soap opera— I mean, news channel.

When Lemmy didn't show up for another three hours, he grew worried. He sent a few koopa maids to scout the castle and its surroundings, but they returned claiming they saw neither hair nor hide of him. In fact, apart from the Koopalings' individual rooms, everything had been spotless. Two more hours passed before Bowser decided to go look for Lemmy himself, but not before Kamek shoved a first-aid kit into his hands and gave him an hour long lecture ranging from how to treat small cuts to how to create makeshift splints in case of broken bones. (He would have gone on had Bowser not drawn the line.)

And that was how he discovered Lemmy in the open fields between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Darklands.

Who, by the way, was looking at him rather dumbly, yellow circus ball sitting idly by his side and crusty scrapes and purple bruises lining his knees and elbows.

To say that Bowser was less than pleased would have been an understatement.

“Lemmy." Bowser massaged the skin between his eyebrows. "Do you know how long you've been out? It’s almost dinner time, for goodness sake! How did you even get here?!"

“I snuck out!” came the young koopaling's honest reply. He didn’t seem to have heard the other questions. “I found a secret passage that leads to outside the castle last week, and-” His wide smile vanished. “You're mad at me, aren't you?” he whispered, hooded eyes clearly troubled. He didn't even need to look at Bowser to know the answer to that.

Bowser rolled his eyes. “Now come on," he said gruffly. "We need to go home."

"I can't!" Lemmy shrieked, clutching his ball like a lifeline. "I haven't mastered my latest trick yet!" In his eyes was a fire Bowser rarely saw in the kid.

He blinked. That was unexpected.

"You can continue tomorrow," he finally said, trying to make his tone a little softer as he turned around to leave. "Let's go back."

"Will you at least see my new trick, King Dad?"

Bowser sighed. Even if Lemmy's tricks were always magical to watch, those scrapes needed treatment before they got infected. “Son, it's late-”

In the split second he had turned back, Lemmy had gone full puppy-eyes mode. Eyes wide, bordered by crocodile tears. Bottom lip trembling ever so slightly. 

(Though knowing Lemmy, it wasn't intentional. Bowser's heart lurched all the same.)

"Fine," he grumbled. A wide smile snapped back onto Lemmy's face.

Bowser sat down on the green grass shaded by a towering oak, leaning on its dark bark. Sunlight poked through the dense leaves and fell on his face like soft golden ribbons. Lemmy was currently rocking on the balls of his heels, his ball positioned behind him. 

"Ready?"

_That grin on his face is lethal enough to kill puppies,_ Bowser thought. He nodded curtly. "Do your worst, kiddo." Pause. "But not your literal worst."

Immediately Lemmy backflipped onto the ball with ease. Bowser couldn't help but clap. Arms outstretched for balance, Lemmy grinned. The sparkle in his eyes seemed brighter. 

He counted to three before jumping into the air, performing a perfect somersault before uncurling and preparing to land...

...and his foot slipped. The ball shot away from under him and dribbled into a nearby river. Lemmy himself was launched forward. He squeaked as he landed roughly, getting a mouthful of dirt and grass in the process. 

Bowser had _never_ run so fast.

"Lemmy! Oh Stars, I shouldn't have let you do that..." He helped Lemmy sit up, worried eyes searching his small figure. There was a fresh new scrape right underneath his snout, highlighted red with unshed blood. Some of his scabs had also reopened. Overall, it looked like it really hurt. Panic began rushing into his system. Any logic was blocked out by the crackling static overtaking his senses.

Lemmy's entire frame began to quiver. He refused to meet Bowser's eye. Bowser gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the inevitable.

Finally, he looked up...

...And was smiling so widely you'd think it would tear his face in half.

"I did it!" He began flailing his arms, eyes shining with pride. "I did it, King Dad! Did you see? Did you?"

Bowser blinked. ”I did-"

“That was so cool! I wasn’t even able to get past that first part but I finally got it right!”

“Son-”

“Do you think I could join the circus one day?”

"LEMMY!" Bowser roared, feeling heat instinctively rise to his throat. Lemmy immediately jumped. "Forget about your damn trick, look at yourself! You're covered in wounds! For how long have you been doing this?!"

Lemmy began tracing circles into the grass with his finger, focusing on the way it felt against his scales and _not_ on his furious father.

Bowser narrowed his eyes. "Answer the damn question."

"...About six months." His voice was as small and meek as he felt.

"SIX-" A vein popped up somewhere on Bowser's forehead. The audacity of this kid...! "You're grounded. And you're forbidden from stepping out of the castle without an escort. Not even _Iggy_ is allowed to visit you. Understand?" Lemmy nodded, bottom lip trembling as he wrung his hands. "Now, let's go home." He began walking in the direction of the castle, not sparing a glance back.

At least, not until he heard another soft thud and another cry of pain. Bowser whipped around, dread seeping into his soul once more. _Not again..._

Lemmy had fallen face first into the dirt once more, his limbs sprawled and body still. He let out a sigh, making no move to get up.

Bowser raised an eyebrow. "You okay, Lem?"

"Yeah." Lemmy's voice was muffled by the dirt. 

"Then get up."

"No."

His blood began to boil. "And why the hell not?"

Nothing but silence answered him.

He snorted, stomping over to him. With more force than required, he grabbed his thin arm. Lemmy let out another squeak that was overshadowed by Bowser growling, ”We're. Going. Home,” He refused to accept another no for an answer. He proceeded to drag the unwilling koopaling.

_Stupid Lemmy...Always wanting to fool around...Doesn't he realize that he's already ten?! Stars, even Morton isn't like this...If he does this again, I swear I'm gonna go-_

“DAD STOP!!!”

The sudden shouting, along with Lemmy aggressively yanking his arm away, made Bowser stop dead in his tracks. Lemmy stumbled backwards before he regained his balance and sat down, bringing his knees closer to his chest (and wincing whilst doing so). The scrape from before now covered the entire underside of his snout, and blood was oozing from more wounds than ever. He gingerly touched a particularly bad one on his kneecap and hissed at the influx of pain shooting through his nerves. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Bowser gulped. Guilt settled at the pit of his stomach like a heavy boulder. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat._ His wounds are even worse...and it's all my fault. It’s my fault for letting him perform that trick despite his wounds. I shouldn’t have let him. Now he’s in more pain than ever. Some father I am._

He knelt before Lemmy. "Where...does it hurt?" He grimaced at the crack in his voice.

Swiping at his eyes with one hand, Lemmy responded by gesturing up and down in a sweeping motion with the other, which Bowser could only understand as "my entire body.”

"Can you stand? Or walk?"

Lemmy's arms trembled under his own weight as he tried to hoist himself up. Bowser could see the determination in his eyes, though it was clouded by the pained grimace he held. After about a minute, he was finally able to stand erect. He carefully tested one leg, lifting it and bending it slowly. His frown deepened.

"It kinda hurts," he replied, "but I think I can do it." Then that frown was gone, replaced by a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "It's okay, King Dad! I'm all right!" He took a few staggering steps forward to prove it, arms stretched outwards. "See?"

Damn, Lemmy was a good actor. If he hadn't noticed the tears clinging to the corners of his eyes, he never would have guessed.

Bowser shook his head, grabbing Lemmy's arm again.

His breath hitched.

Immediately, Bowser loosened his grip. "Sorry," he murmured. "Now, come on."

"Home?"

He shook his head. “We’re gonna clean you up."

* * *

Fortunately, the river hadn't taken that many steps, and that Kamek had given him that run down earlier.

He worked clumsily, applying aloe vera gel to the darkest of bruises and dabbing blood away from most of of the wounds with a clean blue cloth. He was currently dealing with the large one under his snout as Lemmy sat patiently, head tilted upwards and eyes fixed on a white daisy highlighted by the golden light.

“Lemmy," Bowser said suddenly. Lemmy flinched. He looked at Bowser expectantly. "I..." Bowser sharply inhaled. "I'm so-" He coughed. "I'm sor..." He trailed off, frowning.

He was Bowser, king of koopas. He could conquer kingdoms. He could end wars. He could survive hailstorms.

Yet he was unable to utter a simple "I'm sorry."

_Pathetic._

"It's okay, King Dad," Lemmy said, snapping him out of his brooding. "You were just worried about me. I get it." The corners of his lips tugged upwards. "I was the one who ran off to practice my tricks again. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't bother with them. The Koopa Troop doesn't need clowns.”

Bowser blinked.

“Okay, but...that's not all of it." Lemmy's head snapped up, surprise etched into his features. He took a deep breath, cursing himself for having to mentally prepare for this. Bowser looked Lemmy in the eye, taking great care to sound as genuine as possible.

“When I saw you bruised like that…I was scared. I just wanted to get you out of there. I’m…sorry…for being so rash.” He snorted. “Though I should know that if my son is gonna choose acrobatics as his damn hobby, it's hard for him not to get hurt, huh? But," he forced a smile, "my son has the best stunts ever, so I’m gonna let it slide.”

Lemmy smiled a smile overflowing with so much happiness it was almost blinding. (Didn’t his cheeks ever hurt?) "Thank you, King Dad! And you're not a bad dad!" He wrapped his arms around Bowser's knee, nuzzling it. "You're the best one I've ever had!”

Bowser couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm the _only_ dad you've ever had.” He ran a hand across Lemmy's rainbow mane, watching as the coloured strands intertwined before separating and standing upright again. Lemmy seemed to melt under his touch as he leaned in, closing his eyes as a content smile spread across his face. Warmth spread throughout his entire being before settling in his stomach.

“Lemmy, why were you so far from the castle, anyway? You know you're free to practice in the gyms."

Lemmy stayed quiet, hand stroking Bowser's knee. "Iggy has been kind of sad recently," he replied, expression shifting into a more melancholic one. "I wanted to cheer him up. If I practiced at the castle, he might see."

Oh. 

_Oh._

"Well if you're doing it for your brother, I guess it can't be helped."

"Huh?"

"You're allowed to come out here to practice your tricks, as long as you tell me or Kamek before you go. Understand?"

Lemmy immediately threw his arms into the air with a loud "YES!" His eyes were sparkling as he looked up at Bowser. "Thank you, King Dad! I promise it'll be worth it!"

"Sure, kiddo," he said, getting to his feet. "Keep it up, and you might be good enough for the circus."

He had said it as an offhanded joke, but his comment only made Lemmy's eyes sparkle brighter than diamonds. "Ooh, do you really think I can make it into the circus?! I really wanna join the circus!"

Bowser snorted, a puff of smoke drifting out of his nose as he did so. "Absolutely not."

Lemmy's face fell.

"You belong with me and the Koopa Troop. Not some cheap circus."

"Really?" Bowser nodded. "Then maybe I can make my own circus one day!"

Bowser rolled his eyes playfully. "Please, kid. That shi— stuff is only gonna happen in your wildest dreams."

"That isn't even the wildest of my wildest dreams, King Dad!" Lemmy opened his arms. "I want upsies!"

“Ready to go home, huh?” Lemmy nodded. He carefully scooped Lemmy up (taking great care not to graze any of his wounds or bruises) and set him onto his shoulders. Lemmy giggled gleefully, holding onto Bowser's large horns.

He began trudging towards the castle in a comfortable silence only broken by the whipping wind and crunching of wet grass.As the castle grew larger and larger, the sun dipped lower and lower into the horizon until its light was nothing but a ribbon of gold fading to a cool blue dotted with twinkling stars.

"So," Bowser said, finally breaking the silence, "what is your wildest of wildest dreams, boy?"

"My wildest dreams?" Lemmy repeated, confused. He fell silent, hands moving from his horns to his fiery hair.

"...I can't really remember," he finally admitted after a moment, tiny fists tugging at a lock of hair and causing him to wince, "because I have so many. There's one where I'm on a pirate ship under attack and I had to fend of dozens of sailors, and one where everyone was made of paper and I was running a really big and awesome circus. But!" He pointed at the moon, only faintly visible in the darkening sky, with the energy of a child, though Bowser hardly noticed. "my favourite is definitely the one where I bounced so high I touched the moon! Iggy kept telling me, "Lemmy, jumping to the moon is _impossible_," and spewed out a bunch of smart science stuff, and I was like "No, it isn't!" And then I kept bouncing on my circus ball and I went so high and it was really cool! Do you think I can do that for real someday?"

Bowser shook his head. "Kiddo, that's totally impossible."

Lemmy frowned. "That's what Iggy said..." Bowser's hair was still entangled between his tiny fingers when he tightened his grip, but he didn't have the heart to tell him to let go. 

"...But that's okay! I'll still be amongst the stars, right?" He bounced atop Bowser's head. "Oh! Do you think I can be a star if I stay with them for long enough, King Dad?"

Bowser was about to open his mouth to answer when-

“Lemmy Lemmy Lemmy LEMMY!”

He was barely able to register the thought of _Oh, we’re at the castle already, _before a fast approaching blur of _rainbow_ zoomed into his vision and something dense jumped up and tackled his stomach-

“Iggy! I told you to stop doing that!”

Iggy looked up from his hugging position and grinned loopily, glasses askew. “I know. I was just excited to see Lemmy again.” He waved, though Lemmy couldn’t see it. “Hi, Lemmy!”

“It’s nice to see you too, Iggy!” Lemmy giggled, leaning down and waving back.

“You see each other everyday,” Bowser deadpanned.

He set Lemmy down, who immediately walked up to Iggy and gave him a big hug (or…as big as his tiny hands could manage). Iggy’s eyes widened at the sudden gesture before his hands settled on his brother’s bright orange shell, patting it awkwardly. When they pulled away, Iggy gasped and pointed at Lemmy’s injuries. Sensing his brother’s worry, Lemmy tried to reassure him that they were nothing, even performing an impressive cartwheel to prove it.

They seemed to forget that their father was still there. And that it was almost time for dinner. Bowser felt obligated to remind them.

“Yes, King Dad,” they replied in unison. Iggy took off, giggling madly, while Lemmy walked.

“Oh, and Lemmy.” Lemmy turned around. "...You're already there.”

"Huh?" Lemmy's brow furrowed in confusion. “There, where? I'm here with you."

He grinned. “You’ll understand when you’re older, kiddo. Now, go.” Lemmy frowned, but trudged away.

* * *

A little past ten, after all his children were tucked away, Bowser found himself wandering through one of the less frequently used halls, sleep tugging at his eyelids but mind still working like a well-oiled machine.

In said hallway was a recently finished painting of the royal family, almost as tall as the ceiling. He couldn’t fathom why such a marvellous painting would be left in an otherwise empty hall to gather dust.

Bowser ran his claw across it, feeling the grooves and bumps of the bright acrylic, created by thoughtful brush strokes. He knew he wasn’t supposed to touch it, but at the moment, he didn’t really care. His eyes scanned the painting until they found what they were looking for.

It was Lemmy, a little off-centre, arms wide and smile even wider, barely able to contain his excitement. The artist had done a marvellous job capturing his energy — Bowser could even see the happiness dancing in his son’s eyes. It was a stark contrast to the others around him, who held mixed expressions ranging from amusement to exasperation.

His claw lovingly grazed the Lemmy in the painting. Suddenly, he found that he wanted to say a thousand things to him.

Because even if he was the most childish despite being the second oldest, he couldn’t deny that Lemmy was his precious little star — the Pollyanna of the group. A much-needed ball of optimism in this dark and dingy castle, bringing happiness to others and seeing the good in everything. Even if people ridiculed him for expressing his emotions, he still did it. Even if his acts of kindness were insignificant, he never stopped.

Lemmy was a miracle, plain and simple.

And Bowser would always believe in him.

**Author's Note:**

> did you see what i did there? no? alright then.
> 
> is painting lemmy as an intricate pollyana blatant favouritism on my part? absolutely. but i will do my best to give the other koopalings the same love!! >w<
> 
> constructive criticism is always welcome~


End file.
